It's day 3 of our visit to San Diego. The succy trend that started on
day 1 and continued on
day 2 is showing no signs of letting up. Slowly but surely, it's wearing me down. It won't be long before I throw up my hands in defeat and become a convert. Maybe all this succyness isn't so bad after all!
The campus of
San Diego State University is only a tenth of the size of
UC San Diego, which we visited yesterday, but it has a much higher succulent ratio. The first sighting we made was in front of this newly refurbished residence hall:
Usually I'm not a fan of Agave americana, but mass-planted here in a straight line looks sharp, especially in combination with maiden grass (Miscanthus). I hope the landscapers will keep the profusion of agave pups under control. Otherwise this will be tangled mess before long.
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| Agave desmettiana 'Variegata' in front of a residence hall |
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| Golden barrels (Echinocereus grusonii) lined up like soldiers at a parade |
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| Agave attentuata against New Zealand flax |
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| Aloe brevifolia |
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| Aeonium 'Sunburst' and Kalanchoe fedschenkoi |
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| Yellow kangaroo paws and yellow bicycles, with Agave attenuata hiding in the middle |
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| Massive planter featuring Pachypodium lamerei |
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| Furcraea foetida 'Variegata' and granite chair |
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| Yellow bird of paradise (Caesalpinia gilliesii)—pretty amazing flowers |
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| Yet another Furcraea foetida 'Variegata' |
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| Succulent roundabout |
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| San Diego State University has some nice examples of Mission Revival architecture |
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| Brugmansia and flowering jacaranda |
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| More Aloe brevifolia |
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| It's getting repetitive, but here are more yellow kangaroo paws and Furcraea foetida 'Variegata' |
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| Ponytails palms (Beaucarnea recurvata) |
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| Red yucca (Hesperaloe parviflora) |
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| Red yucca (Hesperaloe parviflora) |
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| Hepner Hall, the most photographed building on the San Diego State University campus |
1200-acre
Balboa Park is another great place to experience succyness in San Diego—and palm tree madness, often in combination.
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| Bismarckia nobilis and Aloidendron 'Hercules' |
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| Casa de Balboa |
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| Casa de Balboa |
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| Botanical Building |
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| Cycads inside the Botanical Building |
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| Leucadendron 'Jester' and Chamaerops humilis |
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| Colonnade |
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| Agave guiengola 'Creme Brulee' in a parking lot |
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| California Tower from Alcazar Garden |
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| Aloe rubroviolacea |
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| Agave weberi 'Arizona Star' |
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| Agave weberi 'Arizona Star' |
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| Aloe speciosa |
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| Aloe sabaea |
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| Dragon tree (Dracaena draco) |
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| Aloes and agaves at Balboa Park Activity Center in desperate need of rain |
Speaking of rain, or rather the severe lack thereof: It was shocking to see plants that usually handle extended dry spells with aplomb on the verge of death: aloes, agaves, and even opuntias. The 2017-2018 water year is shaping up to be one of the
driest on record for San Diego: just
3.32" between October 1, 2017 and May 31, 2018.
Is your plan to pretend San Diego is filled with succy-ness so that your daughter, in a fit of rebellion, will choose to attend school in a place her dad dislikes? If so, your plan is working extremely well! Such great pictures of what SD's climate allows to grow!
ReplyDeleteHa! You saw right through me!
DeleteThat clumping palm looks like Chamaerops humilis. The Aloe looks like rubroviolaceae.
ReplyDeleteYeah! Thanks for jumping in with IDs.
DeleteAnd that's a Bismarckia nobilis with that Aloe 'Hercules'
ReplyDeleteDuh! I should have known that. I saw plenty of Bismarckias at the LA County Arboretum. Thanks for the ID.
DeleteI get most excited by the big stuff -- the huge Pachypodiums, 'Hercules' with such massive trunks, the Dragon tree in healthy tree form (as opposed to barely surviving houseplant form). It seems strange that the really struggling beds don't get at least some supplemental water.
ReplyDeleteMe too! I can grow many of these plants here, but never to that size.
DeleteI was shocked a) to find out it had rained so little in SD, and b) to see succulents suffering like that. A very real reminder that we're in a permanent state of drought in California.
I sure hope daughter #2 doesn't decide to go to school in San Diego. I couldn't take the barrage of unpleasant posts...
ReplyDeleteI have a feeling there'll be many more ugly photos in the years to come...
DeleteSan Diego State's done a great job with their landscaping. There were a lot of nice combinations. I couldn't help noticing how the Anigozanthos in photo #9 echoed the yellow bikes parked behind them. Rental bikes on campus is another nice service for college students.
ReplyDeleteThe yellow kangaroo paws with the yellow bikes, that was a magazine-worthy combo!
DeleteArg Brahea armata is such a stunner! I'm surprised it isn't more popular in Nor Cal; it's much more attractive to me than the Washingtonia palms used everywhere.
ReplyDeleteSorry, Bismarckia nobilis as per David F. Those we can't grow in the the Sacramento Valley. But I agree, Brahea armata are MUCH more beautiful that the ubiquitous Washingtonias.
DeleteCatching the moment of the young lovers looking at each other rather adoringly under the Bismarkia--well done!--almost took my attention away from the Bismarkia...not quite, but almost.
ReplyDeleteYeah, so dry, so dry, so dry...a miserable winter it was. :(